Recipe- Guacamole

Take avocadoes, pit them, throw them in a bowl and mash them up with a potato masher. It is important not to mash them too much however, because there still should be some little chunks of avocado left. Then dice tomatoes and onions, except there should be twice as many more tomatoes as onions. Throw the tomatoes and onions into the bowl with the mashed up avocadoes in it, maybe add a little cilantro, and mix all that up with a spoon. Then add a pinch of salt and mix it in, and keep adding salt until it tastes right. Then bury the pit in the middle of the bowl to keep the flavor and sprinkle some limejuice on top so the guacamole doesn’t turn brown. Don’t put too much limejuice on though, as it dominates the taste. However, many times the limejuice isn’t even needed because the guacamole is usually gone before it has the chance to turn brown!

Alex learned this recipe while he was with his family at his uncle’s house in San Diego over spring break this year. He learned it from his mom, who is 100% Mexican, but she grew up in Chicago and has lived in the United States her whole life. Alex has also lived in the United States his whole life, but said that this is a family recipe that has been passed down on his mom’s side for generations. His mom learned it from her mom, who was an immigrant from Mexico. The recipe comes from Mexico, but he isn’t sure where in Mexico it comes from or when it was started in his family.

There is no reason as to why Alex just learned this recipe this year, other than he wanted to learn how to make it. There is no passing down ritual or time that a person in his family is supposed to learn the recipe. He said his family usually prepares the guacamole for big family gatherings. Whenever his extended family gets together for big events such as Christmas, Mother’s Day or Easter, his mom and his aunts make the guacamole. However, he said his family prepares it for smaller occasions as well.

This recipe shows that guacamole is truly an important part of the Mexican culture. The fact that this recipe includes specific details such as leaving little chunks of avocado in the bowl, or sprinkling limejuice on the top so it doesn’t turn brown, demonstrates that this recipe has been prepared many times and tweaked to Alex’s family’s liking. An original recipe would not include such small and specific details. Guacamole’s role in Mexican culture is also demonstrated when Alex’s family prepares it during large family gatherings. Since Alex’s family and relatives always prepare it when his mom’s side (the Mexican side) of the family gets together, it must have a big impact and mean a lot within the Mexican culture and within Alex’s family.